IPL 2018: Ankit Rajpoot Bowls the Second-best Spell in a Losing Cause in IPL History

New Delhi: Kings XI Punjab's Ankit Rajpoot put on a stunning shift with the ball but still his team ended up to be on the losing side against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, on Thursday.

Rajpoot ended the match with outstanding figures of 5/14 in four overs, but the batsmen had a poor outing and SRH succumbed to their second defeat of the season. With the help of this impressive bowling figures, Rajpoot has now entered the list of top-5 bowling performances in a losing cause in the cash-rich league.

Cricketnext takes a look at the other star bowlers, who did extraordinarily well with ball but still ended up to be on the losing side.

Adam Zampa (Rising Pune Supergiant), IPL 2016 - 6/19

Australian spinner Adam Zampa took the league by storm when he picked up 6/19 against Surisers Hyderabad in the 2016 edition of the league. Because of Zampa's heroics, RPS managed to restrict SRH for just 137/8 in their designated 20 overs. Zampa tore apart the middle-order and dismissed the likes of Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda and couple of lower-order batsmen as well. However, the batsmen failed to deliver and Pune fell short by 4 runs in the thrilling low-scoring encounter. MS Dhoni and Geoge Bailey put some fight with the bat, slamming respective 30s, however that wasn't enough as the RPS lost the match in the final stages of the contest.

Ankit Rajpoot (Kings XI Punjab), IPL 2018 - 5/14

Ankit Rajpoot might not have been a household name before the start of the eleventh edition of the league, but he is lighting up the IPL with his stunning performances. In just his second match of the season, Rajpoot scalped 2/23 against Delhi but he simply tore the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line-up apart in his third match. Rajpoot didn't let the SRH batsmen settle early on and sent back Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson and Wriddhiman Saha in quick succession. Rajpoot then returned in the latter stages of the match and accounted for the wickets of half-centurion Manish Pandey and Mohammed Nabi, when the SRH batsmen were trying to finish off on a high. However, Rajpoot's heroics went in vain as KXIP batsmen failed to shine and fell short by 13 runs.

James Faulkner (Rajasthan Royals), IPL 2013 - 5/16

In the 2013 edition of the league, James Faulkner set the stage alight with his scintillating bowling displays for the Rajasthan Royals. But unfortunately, Faulkner's best show that year came in a losing cause against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The left-arm pacer played a more than important role in restricting SRH to a sub-par total of 136/9. In his four over, Faulkner picked up five wickets, giving away just 14 runs and he also bowled as many as 14 dot balls to pile the pressure on the SRH batsmen. And while Faulkner had put his team in the driver's seat with his superb spell, the batsmen let the team down as they fell short by 23 runs. Bowler Kevon Cooper top-scored for RR with 26 and that said it all about the abject performance of the batsmen.

Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders), IPL 2012 - 5/19

Sunil Narine has made a name for himself because of his ability to spin the ball both ways and the batsmen failed to read his mystery deliveries during his early days. In the 2012 edition of the league, Narine ripped apart the Kings XI Punjab batting line-up and helped KKR restrict them to just 134/9. Narine accounted for the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh early on and then returned to finish off the tail by removing Bipul Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Harmeet Singh. And while the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Manvinder Bisla and Manot Tiwary all got starts in the chase, none of them could take the team over the finish like. Lower-order batsman Debabrata Das got the team agonizingly close to the target but his valiant 35-run innings went in vain as KXIP won the match by 2 runs.